Emergency Preparedness and Response practice questions

Answer: A) Turn back and follow a designated evacuation route instead of crossing the flooded road

CDC advises against walking or driving across flooded roads, because people and vehicles can be swept away. Workers should use designated evacuation routes instead.

• ACorrect. CDC says to follow designated evacuation routes and not to drive or walk across creeks or flooded roads, because cars and people can be swept away.
• BIncorrect. CDC advises against walking across flooded roads. Moving water can sweep people away even when it looks shallow, and the depth is hard to judge.
• CIncorrect. CDC warns that cars can be swept away on flooded roads. A heavier or taller vehicle does not make crossing safe.
• DIncorrect. Linking arms does not overcome the force of moving water. CDC's guidance is not to walk across flooded roads at all.

Answer: D) Orally

• AIncorrect. All employees need it.
• BIncorrect. A plan is still required.
• CIncorrect. Oral communication is allowed.
• DCorrect. Larger employers need a written plan.

Answer: A) Maintaining essential business functions through a disruption and restoring them within an acceptable time

A business continuity plan focuses on keeping essential functions going during a disruption and restoring them within an acceptable time. Evacuation and worker actions belong to the emergency action plan.

• ACorrect. Continuity planning identifies critical functions and the resources needed to keep them running during a disruption, or to resume them quickly afterward.
• BIncorrect. This describes an emergency action plan, which OSHA says is meant to organize employer and worker actions during workplace emergencies.
• CIncorrect. This is part of fire response and the fire prevention or emergency response arrangements, not the main purpose of continuity planning.
• DIncorrect. Root-cause analysis belongs to incident investigation. Its findings may feed into planning, but it is not the focus of a continuity plan.

Answer: B) To allow a head count so the names and last known locations of missing people can be given to the official in charge

Assembly areas exist so employees can be accounted for after an evacuation. Anyone missing, along with their last known location, is reported to the official in charge so that rescue is quick and needless searches are avoided.

• AIncorrect. Responders may stage nearby, but OSHA designates assembly areas as the place where evacuated employees gather so they can be accounted for.
• BCorrect. OSHA guidance says to take a head count after the evacuation and pass the names and last known locations of anyone not accounted for to the official in charge. Confusion at assembly areas can delay rescue or lead to unnecessary search-and-rescue operations.
• CIncorrect. First aid may be given wherever it is needed, but the main purpose of the assembly area is accounting for personnel, not medical treatment.
• DIncorrect. Incident investigation comes after the emergency is under control. The immediate purpose of the assembly area is to find out whether anyone is missing.

Answer: A) Identify potential emergencies and rank them by likelihood and consequence to prioritize planning

A hazard vulnerability analysis identifies potential emergencies, estimates how likely they are and what their consequences would be, and ranks them so emergency planning and mitigation focus on the highest risks.

• ACorrect. An HVA identifies emergencies that could affect the organization and assesses how likely and how severe each one is. The team then prioritizes them so planning and mitigation go to the greatest risks.
• BIncorrect. That describes an incident investigation or root cause analysis, which happens after an event. An HVA is a forward-looking assessment done before emergencies occur.
• CIncorrect. That is an industrial hygiene exposure assessment. An HVA looks at the range of possible emergencies, such as natural, technological and human-caused events, not routine chemical exposures.
• DIncorrect. Assigning ICS roles is part of building the emergency response organization. The HVA comes first and tells planners which hazards the plan needs to address.

Answer: A) The alarm must be distinctive and recognizable as a signal to evacuate or take designated actions

OSHA 1910.165 requires an employee alarm to be distinctive and recognizable as an evacuation or action signal, and to be perceived above ambient noise or light levels. Tactile devices are allowed, and supervised systems are tested at least annually.

• ACorrect. 1910.165(b) requires the employee alarm to be distinctive and recognizable as a signal to evacuate the work area or to take the actions set out in the emergency action plan.
• BIncorrect. The standard refers to perceiving the alarm above ambient noise or light levels, and it expressly allows tactile devices for employees who could not otherwise recognize the alarm.
• CIncorrect. 1910.165(d) requires supervised employee alarm systems to be tested at least annually, not monthly.
• DIncorrect. Using the same tone as a routine signal would defeat the requirement that the alarm be distinctive and recognizable as an emergency signal.

Answer: A) Upwind and to higher ground away from the release

For an outdoor toxic gas release, evacuate upwind so you are out of the plume. For heavier-than-air gases, also move to higher ground and avoid low or below-grade areas where vapors collect.

• ACorrect. CDC advises staying upwind of an outdoor chemical release. Heavier-than-air vapors spread along the ground and collect in low spots, so higher ground also cuts exposure. (With a lighter-than-air gas, 'uphill' matters less, but 'upwind' still applies.)
• BIncorrect. The wind carries the plume downwind, and heavy vapors flow downhill. This route keeps evacuees inside the gas cloud.
• CIncorrect. Heading upwind helps, but heavier-than-air vapors spread along the ground and build up in low-lying areas such as ditches and ravines.
• DIncorrect. NIOSH warns that heavier-than-air vapors collect in poorly ventilated, low-lying or confined spaces such as basements, and dangerous levels can build quickly.

Answer: A) A system that sends alerts at once by text, email, voice call, and on-site alarms

For a spread-out workforce, a mass notification system that sends alerts over several channels at once reaches the most people fastest, including workers with disabilities. Single-channel or one-at-a-time methods leave gaps.

• ACorrect. Sending the alert over several channels at once reaches workers in different places and with different abilities. OSHA requires that every affected employee be able to perceive the alarm and recommends other ways to notify employees with disabilities.
• BIncorrect. A phone tree passes the message one call at a time. It is slow and breaks down if anyone on the list can't be reached, so it can't alert everyone at once.
• CIncorrect. A PA system only reaches people within range of its speakers. It would miss the warehouse, the field crews, and workers who can't hear it.
• DIncorrect. A posted notice only works when someone happens to read it. It does not give the immediate, perceivable warning OSHA requires for emergency action.

Answer: C) Use a designated, trained spokesperson whose messages are coordinated with the responding agencies

Crisis communication works best through a designated, trained spokesperson who puts out accurate information early and keeps it consistent with partner agencies. Inconsistent messages and long silences damage credibility and let rumors spread.

• AIncorrect. Several speakers working independently tend to give inconsistent facts. CDC warns that even small differences in wording can cause confusion or doubt.
• BIncorrect. CDC guidance says to get fact-based messages out first, because people keep following their first sources of information. It also says to state what is known and what is not, so rumors don't fill the gaps.
• CCorrect. CDC's CERC guidance stresses trained spokespersons and messaging that stays consistent across response agencies. That consistency protects credibility and reduces confusion.
• DIncorrect. CDC states that messaging across response agencies must be consistent. Separate, differently worded releases risk confusion and undermine trust.

Answer: B) Drop and cover

• AIncorrect. Falling debris is a risk.
• BCorrect. Then evacuate when shaking stops if needed.
• CIncorrect. Avoid elevators.
• DIncorrect. Drop, cover and hold on is preferred.